The Feel-Good Hit of the Summer: Destroyer to Do It Right with New 12-inch Vinyl EP This August; Lyrical Concerns Include the Invasion of Cuba, Parties, Madness, Suffering!

By Liz Louche on May 26 2009

So, I chose this story because it was super short and I could finish it within the 20 minutes before The Daily Show starts; plus, it's been a long weekend, and all I wanna do is, you know, relax with a nice summery drink. Wait, no -- NO I DIDN’T. I am not that much of a slacker. NOPE. I chose the story because I am a good journalist! And I like Depeche Mode. Really, that’s why.

First up, Sigur Rós vocalist Jónsi Birgisson has announced that he is working on his first solo album, which will feature string arrangements by Nico Muhly. The as-yet untitled album will be in addition to his Riceboy Sleeps project (TMT News), which will hit the market July 20. According to Eighteen Seconds Before Sunrise:

we are happy to announce that jónsi is now working on his first solo album. the album will be largely acoustic and feature string arrangements from contemporary classical composer nico muhly. according to nico, jónsi’s solo music can be described as “ecstatic.” the as-yet-untitled project will be produced by peter katis, who has recently produced albums by the interpol, national and tokyo police club. we will bring you more official info about jónsi’s solo album when we have it.

Jónsi has also remixed Depeche Mode's “Come Back,” which will be available on the “Peace” 7-inch single June 15 through the Mute label. “Peace” is the second single from Depeche Mode’s latest album, Sounds of the Universe, and the first ever to be remixed by a native speaker of a pretend language. Birgisson has stepped up to the ol’ remix plate in the past, most recently with occasional Sigur Rós collaborators/fellow Icelandic band Amiina’s single for “Seoul.” His remix for “Come Back” is only available on the 7-inch version of the single, so if you’re a fan of Birgisson and his band of merry Hopelandic men, don’t sleep on it.

By Kid Midnight on May 26 2009

We all know that Bob Dylan had/has a strong predilection for country and Americana music of yesteryear, but new news revealed by Reuters reveals that he even wanted to rip off country legends!

On June 23, a poem, written by a 16-year-old Dylan and submitted to his Jewish summer camp’s newspaper, is going to go up for auction at Christie's as the earliest known example of the singer-songwriter’s handwritten lyrics and is expected to receive bids nearing $15,000. However, it turns out that the “poem” Dylan submitted isn’t even an original work.

Christie’s announced the sale of the manuscript, written in 1957, on Tuesday, but within days it became apparent that the auction house had failed to detect that the “Dylan Original,” with a few minor alterations, was actually the words of Hank Snow’s previously recorded song “Little Buddy.” Reuters investigated the claim made by one of their faithful and alert readers and were promptly able to back up the claim of their stalwart subscriber.

"Additional information has come to our attention about the handwritten poem submitted by Bob Dylan to his camp newspaper, written when he was 16, entitled ‘Little Buddy.’ The words are in fact a revised version of lyrics of a Hank Snow song," Christie's said in a statement. "This still remains among the earliest known handwritten lyrics of Bob Dylan and Christie's is pleased to offer them in our Pop Culture auction on June 23."

Ah, Christie's, quite the defender of artistic integrity, eh? Even with plagiarizing, I marvel at the ability of a place that can still sell handwriting for thousands of dollars. I also wonder who would ever be such a Dylan fan that they would pay exorbitant amounts of moolah just for a teenage Dylan writing down lyrics he likes and playing a prank on his camp counselors. I wonder if this means I can get a major payday for a “Possible Song Titles for New Dylan Album” manuscript that turned out to just be a grocery list I found at Bob’s house while cleaning his pool.